Washington DC Trip

Obama Inauguration, January 20, 2009

The players:  Fearless Leader Dan Kidd, Behind the Scenes Queen Cathy Fessenden, Veteran Kidd trippers Scott Gee and Stephanie Morris, Pamela Lennon – newbie, and author Marty Williams

How we got started:

Dan Kidd posted a notice of the MOAC forum:

Dear Marty W ME,
Dan Kidd has posted to a new topic in a forum that you
have subscribed to at MOAC Forums.

Topic: Trip to DC for Inauguration

Message:

'Goin to drive the van down to DC to see the Inauguration, parade, activities etc.  Once in a lifetime?  Stay at Jeff Tarbox's new pad - pending him finding out.  Bum around, maybe see the Smithsonian.  Trip is still in planning stages!  cost around $50 and all you can eat extra.  Leave Friday night after work.  'Back Wednesday.  See Washington on a shoestring.  Say hi to the new president.  Low class but exciting!
Dan Kidd

I had to plead my case at work, because my coworker already had Monday and Tuesday of that week off, but the boss said go, it was too big a chance to miss.

I was a little worried when I didn’t hear from Dan on the final departure details, but what is unusual about that?  Friday night, 10:30 he called to say departure would be Saturday afternoon.  I left for Limmington around 11 on Saturday, arriving around 3 PM.  The van was in the barn and Dan was poking aroung in the snow looking for his spare tire.  Never knew if he found it or not.  Scott Gee was present and in the barn with the van.  After a while, Stephanie showed up and Pam called with the report she was having the day from hell but would be arriving shortly.  We parked the cars at the top of the hill because snow was predicted for Sunday.  Pam showed up, and I grabbed my EZ Pass from my car.  Go EZ Pass!  We loaded the luxury van and settled in for the long drive to Washington.

Ha!  About five miles out, the van lost power.  Seemed the gas tank was gunked up.  Dan had a brilliant, simply brilliant idea:  rent a van from the airport.  Cathy called Budget Rental (cell phones!) and got a quote of $320 plus taxes, etc.  So we limped to the Portland Airport and piled into some generic, I still don’t know the make, mini-van.  It was definitely not as comfortable as JR but ran muuuuch better.  With the EZ Pass and Penelope, the talking GPS, we   were off.

Go EZ Pass.  That’s what each toll booth said as we sped through Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.  W e stopped somewhere close to Hartford at our favorite, Motel 8, and got a room for the six of us for a mere $59 plus the inevitable tax.  After some wrangling and an unsuccessful rocks paper scissors for the beds, Pam and Steph took the floors, Scott took to his sleeping bag to protect the chastity of the author.  And somehow that evolved into the joke of the next day, Rocks, Scissors and Trojans.

At the crack of 8 am we woke and were on the road by no later than, ummm, 9 ? Dan took us through the scenic version of Manhattan along the Hudson, where we saw the landing site of the miracle crash, and then we (or some of us) saw the fuselage of the US Air plane. 

Of interest:  while disappointed that we were unable to make the concert on Sunday, we listened to it on the radio.  Great concert, and great to share it with those that appreciated it.

Penelope guided us unerringly into Washington DC where I, the author, expected a big wad of traffic jams.  No, did not happen.  We drove straight to Jeff Tarbox’s apartment at XXX Mass Ave., in the vicinity of 4^th and H Streets.  Check your map:  we are VERY close to the action about to take place.  Jeff moved from Maine, and only moved into the apartment the week before.  What an angel. 

We were just in time to walk around till we found dinner at a Spanish restaurant – we went for it, got the two all inclusive tapas dinners.  What a treat!

What to do with the car?  Another Angel:  Megan, niece to Stephanie, goes to school at Georgetown, has an apartment with five roommates and four cars – a place to park the car!

Can you believe our luck?  We can’t.

Monday we took the car to Megan’s.  She took us for a tour of Georgtown University and to a great exhibit on O.  We eventually made our way past the Watergate building to the Kennedy Center where we got into line for the Martin Luther King celebration featuring Aretha Franklin.  We had a good time waiting in line for a while, until we found out we needed a Voucher to get a ticket.  All the vouchers were handed out a loooonnnnng time ago, so we left, but that did set up the next day’s joke – sorry, no vouchers!  We had a coffee and treat at the Watergate coffee shop, just to say we did.

We walked past a huge line to see the Lincoln Memorial, on to the Washington Memorial, saw a huge line of people trying to catch the Metro, saw huge rows of port-a-potties, most locked up, walked to the Capital, bought memorabilia, and finally made our way back to Jeff’s area.  There we ate at Burma, a great restaurant.

Amazingly for a Kidd trip, we got up the next day, Inauguration Day, at 6 AM and were on the road (afoot) at 7:05!  Cathy made us sandwiches and we were off.  Steph stayed with her niece and called to let us know she was at the Reflecting Pool watching the gathering cloud, I mean crowd.

We went to the 7^th Street entrance to the Mall.  Everyone was jubilant and friendly but I do not think I’ve ever been in such a swarm of people.  We waited, we moved some, but got nowhere.  What was shocking was that there were people with “tickets” trying to get in.  We had no tickets, no expectations.

We moved on, found a coffee shop that was friendly, and had bathrooms.  Eventually we made our way to 17^th Street and on to the Washington Monument.  Jumbo-Trons!  We moved towards the Capital but so did everyone else.  Dan and Cathy wanted to get closer, but Jeff, Scott, Pam and I thought the Jumbo-tron was good enough so we separated.  We headed back a little and realized we were not going anywhere; the area was packed.  We peered through caps and hoods and watched as dignitaries slowly filled the Capital inaugural stage.  Finally Obama (!) came into sight.  Even though we were packed in, everyone was exuberant, cooperative, and friendly.  Throughout the day, I asked anyone I was standing next to where they were from:  Delaware, Wisconsin, San Francisco, North Carolina, and of course Washington.  I cannot fully describe the feeling that pervaded:  optimism, hope, good feelings.  There were so many times in that crush, that if anyone had misbehaved, disaster would result, but instead, everyone was just happy.

Obama’s acceptance speech was inspiring and certainly more than I hoped for.  A copy is provided so I will not repeat it.

We wandered off, headed for one of those Port-a-potties – so many there was no waiting.  That’s when we realized the point of the potties was barriers/crowd control.  As we were walking by Constitution Hall, Jeff suggested we go inside.  What a great idea.  We warmed up, sat down, watched some Obama scenes and regenerated.  The crowd outside was still increadibly dense.  We shuffled along with the crowd down 17^th Street, when we heard from Cathy. 

They had been walking along 17^th Street when a cop said, “Go down this street to see the parade.”  After our other experience with lines, Dan was dubious and asked if it would be worth it.  The cop said empatically, “Yes!” so they complied.  What a find.  They made it through security and took their seats on the bleachers.  So they called us, and along we followed.  There were TWO only screeners so it took a long time.

We had GREAT seats, just down from the Presidential review stand.  We had a long wait, but we talked to the others in the crowd, as one then another squad of motorcycles or color guards went by.  A very slow process but then, as security silently infiltrated the area, the Presidential  motorcade appeared and there was the man, Obama.  Before you knew it, he was by, but yet we saw him, in person.  As Joe Biden approached, the crowd started chanting, Go Joe.  Jill Biden was wearing spike high heel boots.  My hero.

We were cold.  The President  had come and gone and where was this supposed Parade?  Then we realized the White House was just behind us, and we got to watch Barrack as he and Michelle with the kids walked to the reviewing stands. Then the bands showed up.  Suddenly we were not cold; we were jiving.  I watched with a group of black women from DC.  They were so excited, and they knew the local band director.  That was fun.  Eventually they left but as the viewers reduced in number, we coalesced.   The bands were, I can only say, rousing.  Florida A & M seemed to go on forever.  Then there was the Gay and Lesbian Band Association, followed by the Azaela Trail Debutants!  Then along came the Lawn Rangers from Amazing Arcolo, a grassroots association.  And of coruse Grambling U. and our own Sanford High School.

 I realized we could actually watch Obama through the glass and I got a few pics of him and Michelle.

After the parade, we slowly made our way back to 4^th street.  We stopped at another coffee shop, ordered pizza, and bought Dogfish Beer.  Overall, the day, the trip, was an incredible success.

The next day, we actually got up at 5 AM, a first I am sure for a Dan Kidd trip, and we actually did leave Washington DC by 7 AM, after driving to Megan’s and getting the van.  We got to the airport to return the van within the allotted time by 15 minutes, thus avoiding extra charges.  We got to Dan’s sometime later, limping along in the luxury van.  Waiting for us was a snow covered road, snow covered cars but somehow we got our cars out. 

I was on the road by 9:30, which was kind of scary, since I was dead tired.  I played with the radio, danced with the music, opened the window, closed the window.  Got home at 1:30 where I stranded the car on a huge chuck of ice.  Belinda helped me free the car and listened to my tales:  bedtime was 3 AM, worktime 9 AM.  And we did it!